Become a Nurse in Arkansas – Licensure & Requirements

APRN applicants by examination must have completed a graduate or post-graduate level advanced practice registered nursing education program, and APRN applicants by endorsement must have met the education and certification requirements in effect when they were first licensed as an APRN in another jurisdiction, according to the board's APRN rules (17 CAR § 123-201). RN and LPN applicants must complete an approved nursing education program under the board's licensure rules (17 CAR § 121-101).

Arkansas Nursing Salaries

^{Salaries above are May 2025 annual median wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program for Arkansas, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR, Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR and Memphis, TN-MS-AR, retrieved in October 2026. The licensed practical nurse row reflects the BLS category for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.}

There are many paths to becoming a nurse in Arkansas. The path you take will mostly depend upon the type of nurse you’d like to become and your current or prospective level of education. The higher your level of education, the more opportunities you’ll have to choose where and how you pursue your career in nursing.

Compact State Status

Arkansas is a Nursing Licensure Compact state. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing's compact page states that Arkansas implemented the current Nurse Licensure Compact on January 19, 2018, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's NLC map lists Arkansas as an NLC state as of October 2026. What that means in practice, according to the board:

• Multistate license: An RN or LPN who holds a multistate license may practice in Arkansas and other NLC states, in person or electronically, and must follow the nursing laws of the state where care takes place.
• Primary state of residence: A multistate license is issued by the nurse's primary state of residence, which the board defines as the nurse's fixed, permanent and principal home for legal purposes. The board may ask for proof such as a driver's license, voter registration card or federal tax return.
• Moving from another compact state: RNs and LPNs whose primary state of residence is another compact state, and who hold an active multistate license there, may practice in Arkansas on that license; the board's RN endorsement page states that such applicants cannot be issued an Arkansas license.
• Single-state licenses: Holding an Arkansas license does not guarantee a multistate license. A nurse who does not meet the NLC's uniform licensure requirements may be issued a single-state license, which is valid only in Arkansas.
• APRNs: APRN licenses are not issued under the NLC, so APRNs who practice in Arkansas need an active Arkansas APRN license.

Prescriptive Authority in Arkansas

According to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing's rules for advanced practice registered nurses (17 CAR Part 123), as of October 2026, an APRN with a certificate of prescriptive authority may prescribe drugs in Schedules II through V, with limits on Schedule II drugs (17 CAR § 123-604). Except for hydrocodone combination products, an APRN may not prescribe Schedule II opioids for more than a five-day period. An APRN may prescribe a Schedule II stimulant only when a physician originally initiated the prescription, the physician evaluated the patient within the six months before the APRN's prescription, and the APRN's prescription treats the same condition.

First-time applicants for prescriptive authority must document pharmacology coursework and at least 300 clock hours of preceptorial experience in prescribing (17 CAR § 123-601). APRNs who already hold current, unencumbered prescriptive authority in another jurisdiction apply by endorsement instead, which requires pharmacology coursework and at least 500 hours of prescribing in a clinical setting in the year before applying (17 CAR § 123-602). Unless they are exempt, applicants must also submit a collaborative practice agreement with a practicing physician, or with a licensed podiatrist if the APRN is employed by that podiatrist (17 CAR § 123-601(5)). The board's prescriptive authority page adds that prescriptive authority is not issued automatically with an APRN license, that an APRN with prescriptive authority must have a written quality assurance plan, and that a DEA registration is required to prescribe controlled substances. The certificate of prescriptive authority fee is $160, according to the board's fee schedule.

Two groups of APRNs can practice without a collaborative practice agreement. Certified nurse midwives have full practice authority under 17 CAR § 123-701, which lets them prescribe Schedule III through V drugs without a collaborative practice agreement; they still need an agreement to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances, and a certificate of prescriptive authority before prescribing. Under Act 412 of 2021, certified nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists who hold an active prescriptive authority certificate may apply to the board's Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee for full independent practice after at least 6,240 hours of practice, either under a board-required agreement with a physician or with prescriptive authority in another state, territory or country that allows it (17 CAR § 123-702). The certificate must be renewed every three years, according to the board's Advanced Practice page. Learn more about how nurse practitioner prescriptive authority works.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) and Nurse Practitioner Requirements in Arkansas

APRNs in Arkansas include: certified nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse specialist, according to the board's APRN rules (17 CAR § 123-201).

Nurse practitioners are licensed in Arkansas as certified nurse practitioners (CNPs).

Education: Applicants by examination must have completed a graduate or post-graduate level advanced practice registered nursing education program; applicants by endorsement must have met the education and certification requirements in effect when they were first licensed as an APRN in another jurisdiction (17 CAR § 123-201(c)–(d)).

Examination: Current national certification from a certifying body recognized by the board; the certification exam varies by APRN role and population focus (17 CAR § 123-201(e)).

Fees, according to the board's fee schedule:

• $125 Original License
• $30 License Certification/Verification

Additional Information: A current, unencumbered RN license to practice in Arkansas is required, such as an Arkansas RN license or a multistate RN license from another compact state (17 CAR § 123-201(b)). Applicants by examination must also verify at least 2,000 hours of active practice as a registered nurse (17 CAR § 123-203).

Renewal: APRN renewal coincides with the renewal of the RN license, and verified national certification is also required (17 CAR § 123-207). Renewal fee is $65, according to the board's fee schedule. APRNs with prescriptive authority must also complete five contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics continuing education in their area of certification each renewal period. According to the board's APRN renewal page, two of those hours must be met by completing the board-required course Advanced Practice Nursing in Arkansas (2 contact hours), which covers professional boundaries, substance use and misuse, and Arkansas APRN prescribing laws and rules.

Learn more on how to become an advanced practice registered nurse.

Information for APRNs in Arkansas was retrieved from the Arkansas State Board of Nursing rules for advanced practice registered nurses (17 CAR Part 123) and the board's Advanced Practice page, as of October 2026.

Registered Nurse (RN) in Arkansas

Education: Completion of a board-approved registered nurse education program, according to the board's licensure rules (17 CAR § 121-101(c)).

Examination: NCLEX-RN, according to the board's licensure by examination page.

Fees, according to the board's RN Initial by Exam page and fee schedule:

• Initial RN license is provided for free
• $100 License/Certification by Exam
• $125 License/Certification by Endorsement
• $30 Temporary Permit
• $100 License Renewal

Background Check: State and federal criminal background checks are required for every first-time applicant for an Arkansas license. Arkansas residents are fingerprinted electronically at an approved location, and out-of-state applicants request an ASBN fingerprint card through the Nurse Portal, according to the board's criminal background check page.

Temporary Permit: New graduates may request a temporary permit within 90 days of completing their nursing program; it is valid for 90 days or until the first exam result is reported, whichever comes first, according to the board's RN Initial by Exam page. Endorsement applicants who hold an unencumbered, active license in another state may request a one-time temporary permit while they wait for permanent licensure, according to the board's RN Endorsement page.

Renewal: RN license expiration date should be the last day of your birth month. If you were born in an even-numbered year, your license will expire in even-numbered years. If you were born in an odd-numbered year, your license will expire in odd-numbered years. Licenses renew every two years, and the renewal link becomes available in the Nurse Portal 60 days before expiration, according to the board's renewal FAQs. Before each renewal, RNs must complete one of the following, according to the board's licensure rules (17 CAR § 121-704): 15 practice-focused contact hours from a nationally recognized or state continuing education approval body, certification or recertification by a national certifying body recognized by the board, or an academic course in nursing or a related field. The exception is a first renewal: if your initial license by examination or endorsement was valid for less than two years and you renew on time, no continuing education is required for that first renewal, according to the renewal FAQs.

Endorsement: RN license by endorsement in Arkansas requires verification of licensure from your original state of licensure (through Nursys when that state participates), a declaration of your primary state of residence, and state and federal criminal background checks, according to the board's RN Endorsement page. Applicants who have not practiced nursing for more than five years must also complete a board-approved refresher course, or graduate from an approved nursing program, within one year of applying.

Learn more on how to become a registered nurse.

Information for RN licensure in Arkansas was retrieved from the Arkansas State Board of Nursing RN Initial by Exam and RN Endorsement pages, as of October 2026.

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in Arkansas

Education: Completed state-approved program for the preparation of practical nurses, according to the board's licensure rules (17 CAR § 121-101(c)).

Examination: NCLEX-PN, according to the board's licensure by examination page.

Fees, according to the board's fee schedule:

• $100 License/Certification by Exam
• $125 License/Certification by Endorsement
• $30 Temporary Permit
• $90 License Renewal

Background Check: LPN applicants complete the same state and federal criminal background checks as RN applicants.

Renewal:

LPN license expiration date should be the last day of your birth month. If you were born in an even-numbered year, your license will expire in even-numbered years. If you were born in an odd-numbered year, your license will expire in odd-numbered years. LPNs renew every two years, according to the board's renewal FAQs, and meet the same continuing education requirement as RNs under the board's licensure rules (17 CAR § 121-704): 15 practice-focused contact hours, national certification or recertification, or an academic course in nursing or a related field. As with RNs, no continuing education is required for an on-time first renewal when the initial license was valid for less than two years.

Learn more on how to become a licensed practical nurse.

Information for LPN licensure in Arkansas was retrieved from the Arkansas State Board of Nursing licensure by examination and licensure by endorsement pages, as of October 2026.

Fees for licensure and renewal on the above nursing careers in Arkansas was retrieved from the Arkansas State Board of Nursing – Fees, as of October 2026.